Phillies earlier today placed fifth starter Vince Velasquez on the 15-day disabled list with a right biceps strain and taking his place in the rotation is 22-year-old Zach Eflin. A corresponding move will be made on Tuesday to make room for him and for now the Phillies will carry an extra arm in the bullpen with the recalling of Luis Garcia.
Phillies acquired Eflin in the Jimmy Rollins trade and ironically Jimmy Rollins was designated for assignment today by the Chicago White Sox. In 11 starts this season with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Eflin is 5-2 with a 2.90 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 11 walks in 68 1/3 innings pitched. Eflin has gone five or more innings in all 11 starts this year and has a 0.88 WHIP, which is good for second in all of Triple-A ball behind Pirates prospect Jameson Taillon.
Besides a few others, Eflin has been one of the best pitchers in the Phillies farm system and he was really the only likely replacement because of his consistency between Double-A and Triple-A. Also the Phillies want to take their time with Jake Thompson, who’s had a bit of bumpy road in first handful of starts with the Iron Pigs.
Zach Elfin will have quite the test in his June 14th debut in Toronto against a Blue Jays lineup that is consider death row for pitchers, especially in the Rogers Centre. Nonetheless it will be great to see one of the future stars of the Phillies so early in the season and Eflin is just tip of the iceberg for what the future will be like for the Phillies.
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